Guadalajara joy for city cyclists

COLIN RENTON

Capital cyclist Callum Skinner linked up with his City of Edinburgh team-mate John Paul and Welshman Lewis Oliva to win bronze in the team sprint at the UCI World Cup in Guadalajara, Mexico.

The trio qualified in fourth spot to book a third-place ride off with France and although losing, their opponents were subsequently relegated for an illegal handover, leaving Skinner and his colleagues with a place on the podium.

Earlier, Skinner came within a whisker of breaking the landmark one minute barrier when he posted a personal best of 1 minute 0.215 seconds to take fifth spot in the kilometre time trial.

The 21-year-old made a blistering start and at the bell was on target to dip below 60 seconds. However, he faltered slightly on the final lap, losing the chance of achieving that milestone and surrendering the prospect of a top-three finish. Scott Sunderland of Australia took the gold in 59.675 seconds.